My cat licks herself til she bleeds

[dylan lucke]

I have a female black cat whose is 13 y/o and for the last maybe 2 years she sometimes licks herself til she is raw and bleeding. She constantly licks the wound over and over again, every day and this can last for up to 2-3 months usually (sometimes longer). I don't think its a skin or fur issue because she's not obsessively licking any other place on herself. She always seems to either lick one of her nipples or the front of her left shoulder. I think it might be an obsessive compulsion kind of issue because I can't take her attention away from her licking session without having to move her head away from the spot. and then when you remover her hand she just goes back to licking. if she's not being pet or she's not sleeping she is usually obsessively licking away. she maintains her regular grooming (usually a few times a day) but she licks her self-inflicted wound several times an hour and then she becomes very calm. She always ends up with a bald patch for awhile but the hair always grows back.I really concerned that she has some anxiety/insecurity issues (just because of the licking there's some other stuff she does too) that are going undiagnosed. if anyone has any advice that would be great c:

Along with the licking she always growls at her brother if they are on the same bed and she can go from purring and content to irritated and attack mode in the blink of an eye.

 

[margd]

Have you taken her to the vet yet for this problem?  If not, that's the first thing to do.   The vet can give you medication to help the bloody spots heal - she may need to wear a cone for awhile to keep her from licking off the medication and continuing to do harm to herself.  The vet will also check her for fleas, some cats are allergic to flea saliva and will lick and bite at themselves till they bleed because the itching is so intolerable.  He may discuss possible neurological issues as well.   While you're there, you can also discuss your concerns about any anxiety issues she might have.   Although it is normally a last resort, there are medications that can be given to cats to treat anxiety, if all else fails. 

One of the first things you might consider doing is keeping a food diary to help you identify any food allergies she might have.  This kind of obsessive licking is often the result of a food allergy and it clears up when the offending component is removed. 

You mention that hair grows back over the bald spots at some point - I assume that means that she stops biting herself long enough for the hair to grow back in.  Have you noticed any pattern to that?  The time of year?  Some environmental agent (like an air freshener for example) that is only used periodically? Does she wear a flea collar sometimes and not others?   You will need to play detective for awhile to look for both environmental and food items that might be triggering her response.

In the meantime, consider installing some Feliway diffusers.  This product is based on pheromones that cats emit when they are content and happy and cats exposed to them will often show significantly reduced levels of anxiety.  This product does not work on all cats and rarely, a cat may become even more agitated (which clears up as soon as the diffuser is removed.)   However, many of our members have seen noticeable calming effects on their cats so it's worth trying.  It does tend to be expensive but the cheapest prices are often found on amazon.  Note also that one diffuser covers only 700 - 900 square feet so if your home is large, you may need more than one.

Another product that has helped a lot of members is Bach's Rescue Remedy, a homeopathic product with an unclear mode of action if indeed there is one at all.  In theory, homeopathic remedies shouldn't work but many of our members swear by Rescue Remedy.  There have been some pretty remarkable stories here about how well it works so you might want to give it a try.

The abrupt attacks on her brother may be normal - it really depends on how frequently they happen.  Cats do periodically get irritated and snap at their fellow feline for no reason that we can see.  If his happens frequently, it may be related to her being unusually anxious, just as you suspect.  Again, try to see if there is any pattern to the times she lashes out. 

Good luck - I know how worrisome it can be to have your cat biting obsessively at herself.  This may indeed by a self-calming mechanism for her - the fact that she stops it when you are petting her is consistent with that theory.  Hopefully, once you get some feedback from a vet, you will have a better grasp of her issues and know how best to approach them.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

 
Have you taken her to the vet yet for this problem?  If not, that's the first thing to do.  

Absolutely.

.

 

[dylan lucke]

I've been trying to get my parents to take both of our cats to the vet for over a year. they really do need to have a check up anyways.  :c

 

[margd]

 
I've been trying to get my parents to take both of our cats to the vet for over a year. they really do need to have a check up anyways.  :c

Do you think your parents will be willing to take her now since it's been so long?  If not, perhaps it would help to show them this thread.  Your kitty really does need to go to the vet and she is clearly very uncomfortable or she wouldn't be biting herself so obsessively.  This is important.   Please keep us updated and let us know how she's doing and if we can offer any more help.    Fingers crossed that she gets in to see a vet next week. 

 

[dylan lucke]

oh she definitely needs a cone. we aren't able to bandage it due to the location of the wound. she fights her brother minimum 1-2 a week. sometimes they fight until they bleed, not enough to do some damage but not playful fighting either.  their fighting wounds are on vulnerable place like the face or ears etc. for the longest time they've been fighting for dominance it seems but i think they are at a standstill which causes tension between the two of them. but I've also seen her just snap at Squeaky just for getting some love from the family. Before Sugar was obsessively licking herself she gained a good amount of weight due to some anxiety (she's lost it all now and is at a healthier weight) that i think was caused by the death of our cat Betsy and our dog Max who both died within a few months of each other. Out cats are indoor cats and have only had fleas once but that was when we rescued them. i sleep with my cats so if either of them had fleas i would definitely notice as would my parents. Sugar has been on different different kinds of foods and she still obsessively licks. we do have some hormone diffuses so I'll see if those will help. I'll also definitely look into the rescue remedy. They really  need to go to the vet they haven't been in  couple years due to my parents not having the money to afford a check up.

 

[margd]

Perhaps your parents would agree to take Sugar if the vet visit was free.  If there is a VCA Hospital near you, they don't charge for the first visit.  Medication would need to be paid for of course, but that might be manageable if there were no charge for the visit.  Here is the link for finding the closest VCA Hospital to you:  https://vcahospitals.com/find-a-hospital   and here is the link for to get approved for the first free appointment:  https://vcahospitals.com/free-pet-exam

I'll be off-line for a few hours but will check in tomorrow. 

 

[foxxycat]

I wonder if the licking on the shoulder could be arthritis? I have an older cat that licks at her elbows a lot when it's acting up. She's only 14 and this all started 3 years ago. So your kitty sounds like in the right age to get arthritis. I would def tell mom that the cat has pain areas and needs to be seen. Normally the vet will manipulate the joints and often they can feel the crunching or actually hear it from arthritis. If not then an X-ray will be needed to examine the joints-this would make a great baseline for when she gets older. It may seem a lot of money but it really is a good idea to get an upper body X ray of the stomach/arms/back etc to see if anything else is  going on.

We know cats are notorious hiders of pain. Sometimes we just have to go with our gut instinct to get it looked at.

The licking also could be a food allergy like Margd said. I would read the label of the foods you feed her- and see if there's Corn or Corn meal or Gluten in it. These two ingredients often are the itching culprit. I have only been able to find a few foods without corn-I will list two of them that I have fed. Other thing is chicken-some cats allergic to chicken. but here's a few I have tried with success.

Tractor Supply has 4Health wet and dry food- we currently feed the Indoor Formula=so far for the past 3 years they prefer this one over the other 2 listed. but you can always mix one of these with what you feed now. Slow transition to new foods.

Taste Of the Wild-they have 3 or 4 dry foods-not sure about canned.

Chicken Soup for the Pet lovers soul dry food- I think they have canned too.

Fancy Feast Pate style wet foods-there's about 8 or so of different flavors.

There's higher cost foods- Nature's Instinct, Nature's Balance or Variety? It's a blue bag with pink writing I think. another one called F.R.O.M.M. but my cats didn't like the minipellets of this food but they use very good ingredients.

I tend to stay away from foods in the grocery store or big box pet stores. I don't care for Hills, Blue Buffalo, Purina etc. I tend to stick to the smaller brands.

 

[orange&white]

 
I wonder if the licking on the shoulder could be arthritis? I have an older cat that licks at her elbows a lot when it's acting up. She's only 14 and this all started 3 years ago. So your kitty sounds like in the right age to get arthritis.

I was thinking along the same lines.  Pets often lick themselves in spots where they are feeling pain.

No one can really tell you, except for a vet.  Maybe the VCA Hospital that Margd recommended can help your parents afford a visit, at least for assessment.  If the appointment is free, they would take her, yes?

 

[dylan lucke]

Hmmm i haven't considered arthritis as a potential issue before. there seems to be 3 VCA hospitals around my town so I'll definitely push for my parents to go there and get Sugar checked out. I still don't think it's food since the licking is only in 2 specific areas but i'll still check their food just in case. I'm really grateful for all the help I'm receiving, thank you so much!